Bitter Truths and Trials
by Aspirant
Summary: Naruto is Naruto, but only he knows his true heritage and the true secrets that he protects and contains. Join him in fulfilling his life's duty and mission. MY FIRST FANFIC.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own anything of Naruto, the story or characters, or anything from any other published manga or anime that I might use or mention. Only the story idea and story line are mine. Go figure.

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Prologue:

"Naruto, my son, I am sorry to do this to you. Yours will be by far the hardest task of all and you should be held high as the greatest hero the world has yet seen. I hope that you will forgive when you learn everything. Read the scrolls I left you with all of the details. Farewell and many blessings, my son." With that, the Fourth Hokage, the strongest shinobi to have lived on the earth, breathed his last. Besides him, a scroll glowed briefly before vanishing, and a wailing infant cried aloud as the seals inscribed over his body faded, leaving a spiral death's seal around his navel.

The former Third Hokage dashed over, along with two companies of ANBU and some of the best medic-nins that they had, including Tsunade. "Arashi, why did this have to happen?" Even as he mourned for the future leader that he had placed his hope and dreams in, he felt himself returning to his role as the Hokage. Kneeling, he picked up the crying infant, staring at him intensely. "Uzamaki Naruto, hmm? You chose well for a guardian, my friend, using your own son. Let us hope the village will see him as a true hero, for your sake and for his sake. Truly, he represents a mighty maelstrom that will shake the foundations of the shinobi world." He muttered quietly to himself, the only other individual in the world, aside from the Fourth, who knew the entirety of the truth.

One of the ANBU spoke up nervously. "Would it be better if we killed the demon right now? It is still weak; its powers are sealed and its chakra stemmed at the moment. Its human body is not even fully developed." Another one, putting words into action, drew his katana. Without waiting for permission, he cast a hate-filled glare at the now silent infant, and dashed forward, intending to end the child's life on the spot. He did not get far before his entire body exploded into a rain of flesh and blood. Tsunade's superior speed and strength shielded the infant, and she threw a hard, cold gaze at the now fearful remaining ANBU.

The Third, Hokage once more, threw a deathly gaze that froze the ANBU companies. "Let me tell you, the elite and smartest and strongest shinobi of the village, right now that Naruto is no the Kyuubi in human flesh. He is the container and jailor. If you kill him, who knows what horrors might happen. Spread that to the ranks; I want no attempts on his life. You will guard him. With your lives if need be." His utter seriousness and grave demeanor drove home the point. "Good. Let us return to the village with the message of victory and the hope for rebuilding and rebirth. Despite the terrors and horrors of tonight, the spirit of fire continues to burn on."

Unable to restrain himself, one of the ANBU, in bright green spandex, shouted loudly at the rallying message. "YOSH! THE SPIRIT OF YOUTH SHALL NEVER FADE! YOU TRULY ARE THE EMBODIMENT OF YOUTH, LORD HOKAGE!"

As all of the ANBU stared in utter shock at the revealed ANBU, Gai, another person, pulling out an orange book and started to read. "Hmm, did you say something?" Returning to normalcy, though without as much tension in the air as before, everyone ignored the ANBU member, now ranting loudly about the problem of geniuses and their hip and unspirited ways.

Tsunade muttered under her breath as the group turned to leave, with a slightly sardonic and sad tone. "So, will we really recover? Shall the leaf sprout anew and the fire burn more brightly still?"

The group respectfully gathered up their fallen leader and carefully cradled the now silent infant and headed back to the village of Konoha. From the Fourth's half-closed hand, a single lead, still green and newborn, fluttered down, to be picked up by the wind and sent soaring into the clearing heavens above.

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I promise, that despite the so far standard beginning, that my story will have a number of plot twists and turns coming up in the future. Saying that, I ask that all readers

PLEASE REVIEW!!!


	2. The Shinobi Academy

I now own Naruto and all Naruto related products… Right…. Of course not, the standard disclaimer still holds. I don't actually own anything at all… (author starts sulking) Also, apologies for the short chapters; I will try to write more...

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Naruto ran hurriedly towards the academy, clumsily flopping along in his sandals, several sizes too large, and in his bright orange jumpsuit. He could not believe that he was already late for his first day towards becoming a real ninja. It wasn't really his fault as he has spent the entire night prior trying to repair his room. Some random people had smashed apart his window and thrown bricks through into his apartment. As a result, Naruto had spent much of the night fixing up his place.

"Stupid people, always messing up my apartment." He shivered a bit. "It's always the same cold eyes." What had he ever done to them to deserve such treatment? In truth, he hadn't really started his pranks until the past few years, mostly for fun, exercise, and attention. He snickered as he briefly reminisced about his latest episode. The village deserved the small measures of justice from his pranks for their raw treatment. All his life, he had protected and sheltered the whole village from the stupid nine-tailed kitsune. And for this, they repaid him in such a manner!

So far in his life, he had been kicked out from the orphanage where he had first found himself within days after he could walk and talk, supposedly all the skills he needed to survive, according to the caretakers. Although the old man Hokage had given him money and tried to help how he could, he still could only get a rundown, abandoned apartment in the worst district of town. Shops overpriced him and generally refused him service. And, worst, almost everyone looked at him with such cold and inhuman eyes, that really chilled him.

Finally, after avoiding some threatening drunks and some bitter curses, he managed to get to the shinobi academy, where a stern-looking, scarred teacher stood at the front of the classroom. He turned from gazing at the silent students and fixed Naruto with a steely glare as he entered. "Uzamaki Naruto." Without waiting for an answer or any sort of response, the teacher continued. "Hurry up and pick a seat. Next time, do not arrive late. It is unbecoming behavior for a shinobi." Turning this into a brief lecture, he addressed the whole class. "Tardiness can have repercussions on the field, the delay might be the difference between the success and failure of a mission, the difference between the enemies' death and yours'. Now, welcome everyone to the first day of the shinobi academy, an important next step towards becoming a proficient shinobi. I will be your teacher for these next two years. (1) My name is Umino Iruka, but you will all address me as Umino-Sensei." He proceeded to methodically discharge his duties and responsibilities, taking role and asking each student to briefly introduce him or herself to the whole class. After a brief warm-up activity, Iruka proceeded to launch into his first lecture of the year.

"Today, we will learn briefly about the history of the ninja world and of the founding of Konoha. As you previously learned in elementary school (2), originally only a few people were able to wield chakra, the primary type of energy we shinobi use, effectively. We will cover in greater detail the exact nature and details of chakra in a later lecture. Anyway, the first such users were held in awe for their seemingly supernatural abilities. Over time, rudimentary jutsus and fighting styles emerged, as well as the primitive beginnings of the shinobi occupation. Though at first the roles were that more of a warrior, shinobi roles eventually evolved along the lines of today into a type of a specialized assassin and fighter. Shinobi gained the label of tools, for a cause or leader, in their abilities to grasp at and utilize greater amounts of chakra."

"With this, diverse style of fighting emerged, setting the basis for the development of taijutsu, ninjutsu, and genjutsu, as well as causing new rifts and troubles. Along with this new diversity came dissension. Differing ideologies and specialists began to clash. As leaders established peace in their countries, they termed themselves as elemental countries, naming themselves after variants of the elements, the most powerful claiming one of the five main elements, the countries of Fire, Water, Wind, Lightning, and Earth. Following the restoration and formation of order, in an effort to make peace, shinobi gathered according to their beliefs and styles to the different countries, and formed hidden schools to train and raise new shinobi."

"The daiymo's of each country, seeing the power of shinobi, encouraged the growth of these schools, forming the hidden villages of today. Shinobi remain essential due to their specialized abilities and use of chakra that most people and normal soldiers have no access to. And with the firm establishment of these villages, the leaders took on the title of kage, as an embodiment of the element of their country."

Iruka glanced up at the clock and paused, closing his notes and the textbook. He looked up at the silent, sleeping, and daydreaming class. A thick vein throbbed. Grabbing a handful of eraser, with pinpoint accuracy, Iruka nailed half a dozen children in the head, knocking them out of their chairs. He distantly noted with some surprise that Naruto had remained, if not alert, at least awake. "Now that I have your attention again…" He glared at the suddenly slightly cowering children. "We will continue this lecture tomorrow, with an additional segment on the Shodaime Hokage. Are there any questions? No? Remember that there will be a quiz on this later in the week. Class dismissed for break." The class scattered out of the door and headed out to play.

Iruka let out a long, tired sigh. The students always had trouble paying attention to the lecture portions. History was something important to know, contrary to common perception. Knowing the background of the world helped shinobi explain, understand, and accept the structure and nature of the system of the elemental countries. Similarly, their later lessons in politics and geography would help immensely. Starting next week though, when all of the bureaucratic issues were settled, they would alternate lectures with practical lessons and skills every day.

Suddenly, Naruto's voice broke through Iruka's thoughts. "Eh, Umino-sensei?" He asked tentatively, probing the character of his teacher, trying to determine if Iruka would treat him unfairly or violently.

To Naruto's great surprise, Iruka put his notes and planner down to give him full attention. "Yes, Naruto?" He replied, stiffly and with a bit of anger, but pushed down with some self-control and containing some measure of curiosity. All of the other students had already left the again silent room.

"I had a question, Umino-sensei." Naruto continued, seeing that, if not fond of him, Iruka was at least willing to give him a chance.

"Go ahead."

"Was there always chakra? In the lecture, you made it sound like chakra and the use of chakra was originally very rare."

With considerable surprise at the attention and at the surprisingly sharp question, Iruka had to reevaluate his opinions a bit. "Well, chakra has supposedly always been there. However, written records only go so far back. Even now, we aren't even sure of the origins of chakra, though such research would be of immense importance."

"Hmm. Will we go over the theories of its origins in the later lecture you mentioned?" Naruto, rather curious, followed up.

Again, Iruka's estimation of Naruto rose a notch. "Probably not, it is a little too in depth for academy students to learn right now." Seeing Naruto deflate slightly, he smiled and added, "Though, if you're really interested, you could read about it at the shinobi library if you'd like." He was starting to warm up a bit to the child. Though, he noted Naruto's frown at the mention of the library.

"Thank you Umino-sensei. May I ask another question?"

"Of course." He wondered what else Naruto would ask.

"Why is our hidden village called the Leaf? We are located in the fire country, aren't we?"

Iruka was astounded. This child was quite sharp. "That is a very good question! Most people gloss over the fact and ignore it, even though the part of the connection should be obvious to them. There are three reasons. First of all, as you will learn tomorrow, the Shodaime, the First Hokage, was the one who established this hidden village. His bloodline limit was the Mokuton, which allowed him to control plants, though usually he used various trees. In his honor, the village was named Konogakure, or Hidden Village of the Lead."

"Secondly, and more importantly, a topic less touched on, the Nidaime also supported this name as a reminder. The terrible times of strife prior had taken a toll on the people. A former major clan had a name relating to plants but was destroyed during the turmoil. Much of the village had come from the survivors and they called this place the Leaf as a token to remember as well as a symbol of their hope in a new beginning.

"Thirdly, most of the other hidden villages, which you will learn about, also do not have names identical to their elements. There are the Hidden Villages of the Mist, the Rock, the Sand, and the Cloud. Most of the villages take on names related to or somehow symbolic for their style of fighting."

At this point, even Naruto's eyelids were beginning to sag down from the fairly long lecture. But, he had made an effort to stay as it was fairly interesting. "Thank you, Umino-sensei. That was very interesting."

"No problem, my pleasure." Iruka smiled at his student, who ran off to play for a while before class started again. Naruto was proving himself to be a very interesting child. He would have to keep an this year's kids, especially Naruto.

Soon, perhaps too soon, break was over. As the students straggled into the classroom, Iruka once again launched into his teacher mode and, though the second half of class was a basics in taijutsu session, gave a long lecture about the importance and history of taijutsu and the varied styles. He did break up his monotonous class with some spar exercises and some basic kata practices.

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A/N

(1) It hardly makes sense for students to go to the ninja academy for just a year. For me, I have it set up so that aspiring shinobi go to the ninja academy for two years to learn the basics. But, a majority of learning takes place in the genin squads, as the team sensei's usually wait at least a whole additional year before nominating students.

(2) In my story, I theorize that normally, children go to regular elementary school at the starting at the age of six for three years. After that, they can pursuer more normal education or can enroll in the ninja academy. These school years merely entail more everyday lessons such as basics in math, writing, and geography.

Naruto already knows about the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox? How? Will this change how he feels and acts? Next Chapter: Naruto is a genius of a student… or not! Iruka wonders why, as Naruto fails and falls behind.


	3. A DeadLast, a Failure

A/N: I was going to go back and change the Yondaime's name, now that it has been revealed, but I probably won't get around to it. If people really want me to, I will, but otherwise…. And, of course, I don't own Naruto.

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Iruka sighed as he headed home after eating a dinner of ramen with Naruto, wondering about his mysterious student. At first glance, Naruto was brightly colored, a little slow, and had only two thoughts in his head – being Hokage and eating ramen. However, in the past two years, Iruka had gotten to know Naruto better, fairly well in fact. He knew that Naruto was uncommonly smart and talented, with a quick mind and wit, and that many of his pranks were calls for attention and recognition. For a moment, Iruka smiled in thinking of the similar stunts he had pulled as an orphaned and ignored kid. Then, he frowned. For all of Iruka's understanding of Naruto, he simply could not grasp how and why Naruto failed the genin exam.

After two years of classes at the Shinobi Academy of Konoha, many students dropped out, but with a large number of different classes, there were always plenty who moved on to reach at least genin, with a large majority of those who passed making chuunin. It was for this reason that Konoha was famed for its strength; it had both numbers and skills. Yet, Naruto, one of his best students, had failed the test. This year, the test consisted of a weapons and aim test, using both kunai and shuriken, a taijutsu spar against two other genin and then against an instructor, a stealth and espionage test, and a performance of bunshin and kawarimi no jutsu. (1)

It was definitely odd, Iruka thought, how Naruto seemed to be doing worse and worse as time had gone on. When he had asked Naruto if everything was alright, Naruto had simply smiled a wide, foxy grin, and said that he still just wanted to stay in Iruka's class longer. Iruka believed that, he could see how much Naruto liked his class and him as a teacher, but he also felt that Naruto was still hiding something. So, Iruka decided that tomorrow, he would ask the Hokage to allow him to stay as Naruto's academy sensei until Naruto graduated. With that in mind, he slept soundly.

Two years later, Iruka again stood at the front of a second-year shinobi academy class. "Welcome everyone to your second year at the Shinobi Academy. I will be your teacher this year. You will address me as Umino-sensei." Naruto tuned out the rest and fell asleep at his desk, having already heard this last year. An eraser smacked him in the face, waking him up. Iruka had thrown it out of reflex, but the entire class giggled and laughed. "This year, we also have an assistant instructor, whom you will all address as Mizuki-sensei."

Two years had passed. (2) Naruto had failed his exam a second time, and was now in his third repetition of the second-year class. Iruka had been so worried the second time, that he had gone to the Sandaime Hokage in his concern. But, the Hokage had merely told him not to worry. Of course, Iruka continued to worry.

Naruto was actually quite excited. The Yondaime Hokage's scroll, his father's scroll, had told him to wait these three years for a special reason. Uzamaki Naruto was not the container of the Kyuubi. Instead, amongst this year's students, one of them was the true vessel, and Naruto had been waiting for this moment. His father had left him instructions for training these past two years, which he had followed rigorously, which supposedly placed him at least at mid-Chuunin level. Proud of his father's trust in him and his strength, Naruto readied himself to continue the protection of the village, as befit an aspiring Hokage. (3)

And so, Naruto goofed off in class that day, and ignored what was being taught. Much of it was a waste of his time, and instead, he stealthily read one of the scrolls from his father. It was his favorite one, as it first introduced him to the fact that he had had a loving, caring, and powerful father, and that someone out there trusted and believed in him:

Naruto, my son,

If you are reading this, then you must already be eight years old. I wish I could have been there to watch you as you grew up into a fine, upstanding young man, and I apologize for whatever has happened to you thus far. Some introductions seem to be in order, though. First, I am your father, Kazama Arashi. Second, I am or was the Yondaime Hokage. Third, the reason every hates you is because they think that you are the container for the Kyuubi that attacked the village five years ago.

But, now I will tell you the truth. I am placing the safety of the village in your hands, and I know that you, my son, will make me proud. Your will and chakra are linked through your seal to the other child's seal, and powers that seal to contain the fox. Before I died, I created and tattooed additional seals on you, which is why this scroll suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

I believe that you will become a great and powerful person, and most importantly, kind to others and caring. You might even be like your dad and become the Hokage some day. With that in mind, I have also sealed many training scrolls and techniques for you so that you can reach your full potential. I have even sealed some money for you as well. Most of these seals will activate on their own at the proper time, so that you don't overburden yourself.

Every year, you will receive a letter from me, and I hope that you will try to understand and see me really as your father. I'll tell you about our family and tales from when I was young like you are. Keep this a secret though, until the time you feel is right to let other people know. You should also try to find Jiraiya, my sensei, as well as Sarutobi, the Sandaime Hokage. Those two have always been trustworthy friends and mentors and will help you as best as they can. Likely, they already even know some of the truth, but I can't say for sure.

Stay safe, and I hope that you can forgive me. I only wish you the best and believe in you.

Your loving father,

Arashi

Naruto remembered with a smile how he had been so happy that day. Though at first he had been somewhat angry and upset, he had then realized that not only did he know who his father was, but he had a family, and someone believed in him. His father, the Fourth Hokage, had chosen him specifically as an heir to protect the village. Truthfully, it was on that day that Naruto really threw himself into his dream of becoming the Hokage. He smiled to himself as he also remembered what he had done next. Right away, he ran to the Hokage tower, dashed past the guards and ran to find the Hokage. The secretary had smiled at him and told him the Third was in a meeting, and asked him to wait. She had even given him a piece of candy to eat. Naruto could tell that she seemed like a nice person, and that she didn't hate him or look at him with those cold eyes.

Then, when the meeting was over, Naruto dashed into the office, running through past and under and around the cold adults coming out of the room. The Third had seemed somewhat down. Later, Naruto realized that it was around the time of the Uchiha Massacre. But, Naruto had bounded in and given the old man a hug, which was gradually returned.

Naruto had always, even before reading the letter, looked up to the Third, both as a strong Hokage and a grandfather figure who had sheltered and protected him. "Ojisan!" Naruto had shouted.

Sarutobi had smiled feebly. "How are you doing, Naruto?"

"I learned about my family today." Naruto had carefully whispered to the Third, making sure there was no one around them. "My dad left me a letter."

Somewhat shocked at the sudden revelation, but immensely cheered, Sarutobi had laughed. "That is good news. Do you need any help or anything, now that you know? Are you alright with everything?" He had asked just to make sure, as he probably had been able to tell from the large grin on Naruto's face.

"Eh, that's okay, Ojisan. Dad set up everything already. Just take care of yourself and keep that Hokage hat and seat warm for me." Relieved and feeling wonderfully happier, Sarutobi had just smiled and laughed again, and then had taken them out for a late dinner of ramen at their favorite ramen stand.

Naruto was knocked out of his cheery memories with a well-placed eraser. "Naruto! Pay attention!" Iruka shouted, somewhat irritated.

"Ow!" Naruto rubbed his forehead. "That hurt, Iruka-sensei!"

Shaking his head, Iruka sighed. "Now that you are paying attention," The class laughed a little, before Iruka silenced them with a glare. "We can continue the introductions. Please introduce yourself to the class."

He bounded up to the front, to Mizuki's astonishment and annoyance but as Iruka had expected. Naruto turned to face the class. "I am Uzamaki Naruto, the number one most surprising ninja in the whole village and the most infamous prankster in the world. This is my third year in the Academy, but, one day, I will become the Hokage. And, I will definitely be the strongest and best Hokage ever!" Any, with that astounding declaration, he returned to his seat, ignoring the snickers and laughs of the other students.

Iruka sighed, and tiredly rubbed his forehead. This always happened. "Thank you, Naruto. Next, Nara Shikamaru, please come up and introduce yourself to the class."

"Troublesome." But, Shikamaru got up anyways and plodded to the front.

Naruto ignored Shikamaru's bored introduction, more or less. It wasn't that he was trying to be rude, but that he was simply too excited to meet at long last the true container for the Kyuubi. And, beside, he could always read more about the Nara clan from the reference scrolls his dad had left. Watching, Naruto waited as Shikamaru went back to his seat, and as Iruka asked the true vessel to come to the front of the classroom. "Please come up introduce yourself…"

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A/N

(1) The academy teaches only the most basic skills in setting up the groundwork for future learning. The foundation is very important, which is why students spend two years on these basics alone. It is in genin squads where shinobi acquire their distinctive skill set and style, which they hone as chuunin and make famous as jounin. Also, students are, normally, only twelve years old at graduation and still have small chakra reserves, hence the basic techniques.

(2) Two more years have passed, as Naruto failed the test three times. Because he had done well the first year, each time he is retained in the next year's graduating class. This also means that Naruto is actually a year older than Lee, Neji, and Tenten, and two years older than the rest of the Rookie Nine.

(3) Here is the first main plot twist. Naruto is not the vessel of the Nine-Tails! Instead, the Fourth, his father, gave Naruto the job of protecting the true vessel through this cloak of anonymity.

Yes, it is a cliffhanger! Read next time to discover the identity of the true container… Let me know who else you think would be a good container for the Kyuubi. Of course, I already have the character picked out though…


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